Written Answers Monday 31 January 2011

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) maximum waiting time is from referral to treatment for alcohol addiction, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38895 on 28 January 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Autism

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money it has given the Scottish Society for Autism in each year since 2007 and for what purpose.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has awarded the following funding to the Scottish Society for Autism:

  1. Voluntary Sector Development Fund

  2009-10: £22,270

  2010-11: £35,000.

  2. Section 9 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968

  2008-09: £99,460

  2009-10: £99,075

  2010-11: £103,278.

  Section 9 funding was awarded to help the Scottish Society for Autism to develop and deliver training courses for local authorities.

Charities

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the reasons for the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator not considering a request from the Ayrshire branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society to defer approval of the new proposed UK constitution for the society.

Fergus Ewing: None. This is an operational matter for the independent charity regulator.

Dentistry

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teeth were extracted in the NHS general dental service setting in 2009-10.

Shona Robison: Records show that in 2009-10 there were 518,685 teeth extracted in the NHS general dental service in Scotland.

  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

Education

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will assess whether a local authority has breached the teacher-pupil ratio in primary 1 to 3 requirement.

Michael Russell: Discussions are ongoing with local government as to how the commitment to maintain the 2010 P1 to P3 pupil-teacher ratio will be assessed.

Ferry Services

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, in his official capacity, has had direct involvement with the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service tender by way of (a) meetings or (b) correspondence with (i) the selected bidders or (ii) CalMac.

Keith Brown: The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has had no involvement in his official capacity.

Finance

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set out how it is "maximising income within existing powers", as referred to Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government described its plans for maximising income in Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12 and the supporting documentation.

  This includes the proposal to use our powers to help increase resources in 2011-12 by increasing business rates paid by the largest retail properties, including supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks. We will seek parliamentary support for our proposal shortly.

  In addition, we are maximising receipts from the sale of surplus land and buildings.

Health

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of babies has been exclusively breastfed at six to eight weeks in NHS Tayside in each quarter since June 2007 and what the corresponding figures are for each of its community health partnership areas.

Shona Robison: Details are as follows:

  NHS Tayside: Exclusive Breastfeeding at the Six to Eight Week Review1 by Community Health Partnership

  

 
 NHS Tayside
 Angus CHP
 Dundee CHP
 Perth and Kinross CHP


 Birth Quarter Ending
 Number of Reviews
 % Exclusively Breastfed
 Number of Reviews
 % Exclusively Breastfed
 Number of Reviews
 % Exclusively Breastfed
 Number of Reviews
 % Exclusively Breastfed


 June 2007
 997
 29.4
 315
 27.6
 361
 21.3
 322
 40.1


 September 2007
 1,071
 27.4
 285
 25.3
 411
 22.1
 375
 34.7


 December 2007
 1,041
 25.5
 304
 23.7
 401
 18.7
 336
 35.1


 March 2008
 1,054
 25.5
 291
 28.5
 396
 15.7
 367
 33.8


 June 2008
 1,033
 27.6
 315
 27
 406
 21.2
 312
 36.5


 September 2008
 1,111
 26.9
 298
 25.8
 450
 23.1
 364
 32.7


 December 2008
 1,045
 24.3
 286
 23.8
 398
 20.6
 361
 28.8


 March 2009
 994
 26.9
 279
 26.5
 398
 22.6
 317
 32.5


 June 2009
 1,041
 27.8
 276
 25.7
 411
 22.6
 354
 35.3


 September 2009
 1,127
 27
 329
 27.4
 444
 25.7
 354
 28.2


 December 2009
 1,003
 25.7
 278
 22.3
 398
 22.6
 327
 32.4


 March 2010
 1,009
 26.4
 261
 26.1
 409
 22.5
 339
 31.3



  Source: ISD Scotland, CHSP-PS Nov 2010, Ref: IR2011-00160.

  Note: 1. Number of six to eight weeks reviews with valid feeding data. Although the majority of these reviews are carried out between six and eight weeks, the maximum age limit for this review is 12 weeks.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths there were where obesity was mentioned on the death certificate in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

Nicola Sturgeon: There were 196 deaths registered in Scotland in 2009 for which the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code for obesity (E66) was identified as either the underlying cause of death or as one of the factors which contributed to the death, due to obesity or an equivalent term having been mentioned on the death certificate.

  The corresponding figure for 2010 is not yet available. The provisional total number of deaths registered in Scotland in 2010 will be published by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) on 10 March 2011.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reappraise the guidance on infant feeding regarding the introduction of other foods.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government endorses, and adopts as policy, the World Health Organization’s guidance recommending exclusively breastfeeding for an infant’s first six months, and the introduction of solids, for all infants, at around six months.

  This is not only Scottish Government and World Health Organization policy but the consensus of international clinical opinion. Therefore, we have no plans to reappraise current guidance on infant feeding, however we will continue to monitor emerging evidence.

Housing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Universal Home Insulation Scheme will operate in 2011-12 and, if so, how much funding it will provide.

Alex Neil: The future of the Supporting Sustainability budget is dependent on the passage of the 2011-12 budget.

Housing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new affordable homes planned to be built through the National Housing Trust initiative will be made available for (a) social rent and (b) owner-occupiers.

Alex Neil: All homes provided under the National Housing Trust initiative (NHT) will be classed as private sector lets and will be available for rent at intermediate (mid-market) levels which makes them affordable to households on lower incomes, including those on housing benefit. That means that none of the NHT homes will be (a) offered for social rent through a Scottish secure tenancy or (b) made available for owner-occupiers. However, when the sale of homes is triggered between years five and 10 of the initiative, existing tenants will be given the option to buy their home before it is sold on the open market. Following exit from the initiative, homes could therefore be owner-occupied or available for continued letting.

Housing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be made available for the Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers scheme in 2011-12.

Alex Neil: As I announced on 19 January 2011, we plan to spend £5 million in 2011-12 on the New Supply Shared Equity with Developers scheme. We also plan to spend up to £2 million on the Open Market Shared Equity scheme, which is demand-led. The open market scheme will be targeted at priority groups such as social renters to help free up social rented housing for those who need it most. In addition, further new funding will be made available for the New Supply Shared Equity scheme, the level of which will depend on the bids received under the planned £50 million competitive funding arrangement.

  There will also be expenditure in 2011-12 on projects being funded through the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) schemes, which have been approved before or during 2010-11. The Scottish Government will be able to confirm the funding associated with these committed projects at the end of April 2011.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for the New Supply Shared Equity scheme were made in 2010.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Registered Social Landlords administer New Supply Shared Equity on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many successful applicants were there for the New Supply Shared Equity scheme in 2010.

Alex Neil: Between January and September 2010, the number of properties purchased under the New Supply Shared Equity scheme was 145.

  This information is recorded on the sales log monitoring database from returns completed by registered social landlords administering the New Supply Shared Equity scheme throughout Scotland. Due to the nature of the collection, there can be a time lag between the sale occurring and being recorded on the database.

  An update to Housing Statistics for Scotland will be published in February 2011 on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics and will include the number of sales for the period September to December 2010.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are expected to receive support from the New Supply Shared Equity scheme in 2011.

Alex Neil: The number of people the Scottish Government will be able to help under New Supply Shared Equity in 2011-12 will depend on the bids received for competitive funding arrangements which were outlined in the Scottish draft budget in November 2010.

  In addition, the Scottish Government aims to help 200-250 people access homeownership in 2011-12 under the New Supply Shared Equity with Developers Scheme.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under 25 were convicted of causing death or serious injury through dangerous driving in the Lothian and Borders Police force area in 2010 and how many (a) received a lifetime ban, (b) had their car confiscated, (c) had their car seized and (d) had their licence removed.

Kenny MacAskill: There were no convictions of persons under 25 for causing death through dangerous driving in Lothian and Borders police force area in 2009-10.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under 25 convicted of dangerous driving in the Lothian and Borders Police force area in each of the last five years have (a) received a lifetime ban, (b) had their car confiscated, (c) had their car seized and (d) had their licence removed.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information on persons disqualified from driving for dangerous driving in 2005-06 to 2009-10, in the Lothian and Borders police force area, is given in the following table.

  There were no disqualifications for life during this period. Information on the numbers of cars confiscated or seized is not held centrally.

  Persons Under 25 with a Charge Proved for Dangerous Driving1 in the Lothian and Borders Police Force Area who were Disqualified, from 2005-06 to 2009-10

  

 
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


Total Convicted
64
79
64
61
54


Of Which Disqualified
61
74
53
59
52


Percentage Disqualified
95.3
93.7
82.8
96.7
96.3



  Note: 1. Where main offence.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of dangerous driving by people under 25 were recorded in the Lothian and Borders Police force area in 2010.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally. The police recorded crime data collected centrally is based on an aggregate return from each of the eight police forces in Scotland and does not include the ages of perpetrators.

Mental Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital admissions resulted from deliberate self-harm by people aged 16 and over in 2009-10.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number of hospital admissions for patients aged 16 and over with a diagnosis of intentional self-harm for the year 2009-10 was 13,872. Caution is advised when interpreting these figures as the procedures in place for admitting cases of intentional self harm may vary between NHS board areas.

  The information given in the answer is based on episodes of care which may include multiple episodes for individual patients within the year.

  This information is based on data from the national Scottish Morbidity Record Scheme 01 (SMR01), which records all inpatient and day case discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric specialties in NHS hospitals in Scotland.

Mental Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital admissions resulted from deliberate self-harm by people under 16 in 2009-10.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number of hospital admissions for patients aged under 16 with a diagnosis of intentional self-harm for the year 2009-10 was 438. Caution is advised when interpreting these figures as the procedures in place for admitting cases of intentional self-harm may vary between NHS board areas.

  The information given in the answer is based on episodes of care which may include multiple episodes for individual patients within the year.

  This information is based on data from the national Scottish Morbidity Record Scheme 01 (SMR01), which records all inpatient and day case discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric specialties in NHS hospitals in Scotland.

Mental Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the 28-day hospital readmission rate following discharge from a mental health speciality was for patients aged (a) under 18, (b) 18 to 44, (c) 45 to 64 and (d) 65 and over in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2010, also broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table shows the latest figures for the number of discharges from mental health hospitals (SMR04) that have a subsequent readmission to a mental health hospital within 28 days.

  Number of discharges from mental health hospitals in Scotland that have a subsequent readmission within 28 days, and rate of readmission as a percentage of all discharges, year ending 31 March:

  

NHS Board of Residence/Age Group
2009
2010P


Number
% of all discharges
Number
% of all discharges


Ayrshire and Arran
 
 
 
 


Under 18
*
 16.7
*
 8.3


18 to 44
 76
 13.7
 71
 12.8


45 to 64
 31
 9.1
 32
 9.5


65 and over
 18
 7.0
 11
 4.7


Borders
 
 
 
 


Under 18
-
-
*
 10.0


18 to 44
 21
 12.1
 22
 13.3


45 to 64
 23
 23.0
 13
 13.3


65 and over
 14
 9.9
 5
 4.5


Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
 
 


Under 18
-
-
*
 25.0


18 to 44
 21
 11.4
 22
 11.1


45 to 64
 12
 10.0
 20
 13.5


65 and over
 5
 4.5
 10
 8.5


Fife1
 
 
 
 


Under 18
-
-
-
-


18 to 44
 56
 11.7
 62
 13.4


45 to 64
 35
 12.5
 32
 11.6


65 and over
 16
 7.2
 27
 9.9


Forth Valley
 
 
 
 


Under 18
-
-
*
 10.0


18 to 44
 52
 13.9
 58
 15.2


45 to 64
 18
 9.7
 12
 6.8


65 and over
 8
 3.8
 10
 4.6


Grampian
 
 
 
 


Under 18
-
-
*
 11.8


18 to 44
 60
 11.8
 50
 11.2


45 to 64
 46
 12.7
 47
 12.5


65 and over
 25
 5.4
 31
 7.6


Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 
 
 
 


Under 18
 8
 13.1
 6
 11.5


18 to 44
 235
 11.3
 199
 11.1


45 to 64
 128
 10.4
 106
 9.5


65 and over
 53
 5.3
 48
 5.4


Highland
 
 
 
 


Under 18
*
 9.1
-
-


18 to 44
 45
 10.6
 38
 9.8


45 to 64
 28
 8.7
 17
 6.4


65 and over
 21
 7.3
 13
 4.5


Lanarkshire
 
 
 
 


Under 18
*
 8.7
*
 9.4


18 to 44
 98
 11.5
 77
 9.8


45 to 64
 43
 8.9
 47
 10.0


65 and over
 27
 6.2
 26
 6.5


Lothian
 
 
 
 


Under 18
*
 5.4
 10
 21.3


18 to 44
 113
 10.3
 101
 10.7


45 to 64
 55
 8.2
 58
 9.3


65 and over
 45
 7.0
 38
 5.6


Orkney
 
 
 
 


Under 18
-
-
-
-


18 to 44
*
 22.2
*
 20.0


45 to 64
*
 20.0
-
-


65 and over
-
-
-
-


Shetland
 
 
 
 


Under 18
-
-
-
-


18 to 44
-
-
-
-


45 to 64
*
 25.0
-
-


65 and over
-
-
-
-


Tayside
 
 
 
 


Under 18
*
 7.1
-
-


18 to 44
 75
 11.4
 84
 12.3


45 to 64
 41
 10.4
 33
 8.0


65 and over
 28
 6.0
 33
 7.2


Western Isles
 
 
 
 


Under 18
-
-
-
-


18 to 44
*
 3.9
-
-


45 to 64
-
-
*
 15.0


65 and over
*
 10.0
*
 12.5



  PData is provisional.

  Notes:

  *Indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure.

  1. Data is provisional for years ending 31 March 2009 and 2010.

Mental Health

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what capital funding it will provide to allow the development of the new mental health inpatient facility in Lochgilphead.

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it anticipates construction of the new mental health inpatient facility in Lochgilphead will begin.

Nicola Sturgeon: The development of this project is at an early stage. NHS Highland has recently submitted an initial agreement which is currently being reviewed by the Capital Investment Group within the health directorates. In the context of a 36.5% reduction of available capital, the Scottish Government will be considering the most appropriate method of delivering this important project as quickly as possible.

NHS Services

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a statutory requirement for NHS Lothian to hold a consultation regarding its proposal to cease funding homeopathy services and, if so, what this requirement is.

Nicola Sturgeon: The 2004 NHS Reform Act introduced a statutory duty on NHS boards to encourage public engagement in both the planning and development of local services and/or decisions made by the NHS board that would significantly affect the operation of those services. The guidance to the NHS in Scotland on the appropriate level of public and stakeholder engagement for proposed service change is contained in CEL 4 (2010): Informing, Engaging and Consulting People in Developing Health and Community Care Services  which can be accessed at: http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2010_04.pdf .

  This guidance is clear that any NHS proposals which are considered to be major must be subject to a period of formal, public consultation and, ultimately, ministerial approval.

  NHS Lothian has yet to conclude consideration of its proposals for the future of local homeopathic services. I would expect the board to continue to fully engage with all local stakeholders as it further develops its plans. I am aware that Midlothian Community Health Partnership is already making arrangements to undertake a period of public consultation and I would encourage the member to engage with that consultation. As noted above, should the board’s final proposals be considered major service change, they would have to be subject to formal public consultation and ministerial approval.

Prison Service

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many foreign nationals are serving sentences in Scottish prisons.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  There are currently 153 convicted foreign nationals in Scottish Prisons. Data correct as of 24 January 2011.

Prison Service

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many foreign nationals are in Scottish prisons pending deportation.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  There are currently 20 foreign nationals in Scottish Prisons pending deportation. Information provided correct as of 24 January 2011.